Our prior U.S. Pat. No. 6,435,727 discloses a simplified connection arrangement for fiber optic cable. There are similar single source connection arrangements used for electrically connecting different computer equipment to electrical signal based computer networking systems.
More recently in our U.S. Pat. No. 7,206,392 a particular arrangement is disclosed that allows a fiber optic network system to be installed in a premise with this network system having a front interface and a back interface that provide media conversion. The front interface is connected to traditional computer equipment that use electrical signaling. The front interface converts electrical signals to optical signals that are received by the back interface. The back interface then converts the optical signals to electrical signals. In this way the premise can have a fiber optic network installed to allow for future expansion and enhancement of the communication systems.
There are many different devices for converting electrical communication signals to a fiber optic signal for transmission over fiber optic networks. With these systems a workstation requires a series of separate devices for media converters with many of these devices requiring power input and a host of cabling for connecting of different computer devices. Typically devices provided at a workstation still use the electrical based signaling. RJ45 jacks are common and more recently a number of devices have also made use of Power Over Ethernet (POE) type connections. In particular, telephone devices that use Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) require power. On occasion it is also desirable to have a direct fiber optic connection panel at the workstation.
The cabling and media converters required to connect different workstation devices to a fiber optic networking system becomes complicated quickly and often the cabling becomes cluttered and difficult to appreciate. Furthermore, this complicated cabling arrangement can result in inadvertent disconnection that often requires technical service for what turns out to be a simple disconnection. Furthermore, the number of power outlets required at a workstation significantly increases as each adapter requires separate power.
The present invention provides a consolidated media conversion connection system that addresses a number of these difficulties.